RANT&H: Patek Philippe 3940; The $35k Watch That’s Worth Every Penny

Feb 19, 2018

In this week’s episode of RANT&H, Christian dives into a $35,000 Patek Philippe that is not only worth every penny, but is also his grail.

The piece in question is the Patek 3940, a 36mm yellow gold perpetual calendar that is, by all accounts, a work of art. It was produced starting in 1986 and ran until 2006, giving the reference a 20 year, uninterrupted production run, and it came dead in the middle of the quartz crisis. Instead of selling off or selling out like so many other brands did, Patek doubled down and produced this – an ultra complicated, ultra slim (9mm thick!!!) watch with no semblance of letting the rest of the industry knock it down. We at T&H love an underdog, and perhaps this is one of the best.

Then there’s the dial, which is so absurdly simple that it almost makes the complication look less, well, complicated. Depending on the metal of the case, it can appear everything from pearl white to cream colored, but whichever the color may be, it still maintains a very discrete font and super clean layout, all of which help to make it the most classic, unassuming calendar watch Patek has made in the “modern” era, if you ask me. Even if it isn’t my own personal grail (that credit goes to the Patek 5970), I can completely see why its Christian’s.